


Sunset Blues

by misswalker



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Same Age, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Relationships, Gen, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-03-16 03:10:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13627347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misswalker/pseuds/misswalker
Summary: Sakura grows up with one Uchiha who's never going to let her down.His name is Obito. He wears really cool-looking goggles. And he's going to become Hokage.





	1. Part I: Childhood

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter Inspiration: Naruto Shippuuden Episode 481, Part B

Sakura runs into the forest, to her little hideaway where nobody’s around to call her Billboard Brow or Forehead.

She stops in her tracks, hiding behind a tree just in time to avoid getting spotted by the boy throwing shuriken at a tree trunk. Only two of the five actually reach their destination, and those that do bounce off, not having been thrown hard enough to pierce the bark.

“Damn it!” curses the boy.

_Is that…Uchiha Obito?_

The class dead-last. The boy who couldn’t throw shuriken straight, even though they were in their second year now. The boy who had challenged Hatake Kakashi at every opportunity, and made a fool of himself every time. Bad at nearly everything, and late half the time to boot. She never imagined he would be the type to actually train outside of school.

_What should I do? He’s in my clearing…_

“Oi! Come out from over there!”

_NO WAY! HE SPOTTED ME?!_

No choice now. She reveals herself from behind the tree.

“H-hi, Obito-san.”

“Forehead girl, is it? What, did you come to make fun of me?”

“Forehead girl…”

The tears spring up against her will.

Seeing her tears, he panics.

“S-sorry! I meant Sakura! That’s your name right, Sakura-chan? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to call you that!”

His apology surprises her. Is he…actually being nice to her?

“Still! What are you doing out here? This is my clearing, alright? I train here.”

His claim brings her back to the task at hand. Someone had found her secret spot.

“Your clearing? This is my clearing! I was here first!

She marches over to her tree, where the bark has been worn away by her punches.

“See? This is where I practice my taijutsu!”

She throws a punch, to illustrate how the height of the tree’s bald spot perfectly matches the reach of her fist.

She grabs him by the wrist, and tugs him over to the entrance of her hideout. A garland of paper flowers marks the spot.

“I even have all my stuff here! It’s _my_ clearing!”

He peers inside, and sees a variety of toys and knick-knacks. Intrigued, he enters the small space. Mats cover the ground, and just the right amount of sunlight peeks in between the leaves and branches. More paper ornaments hang in the air. It’s pretty impressive.

“Nice place you’ve got here!” he calls out from inside.

“I didn’t say you could go in!”

She goes after him, to make sure he doesn’t mess up any of her stuff.

“This is pretty cool, Sakura-chan,” he says, looking over everything.

She watches as he picks things up and puts them down again. He picks up her mirror, and brings it close to his eyes. Still no Sharingan.

“You…you really think so?” she asks, lingering at the entrance. She doesn’t know what she expected, showing him all this.

“Yeah! I thought I finally found a good place to train, but obviously you got here first.”

He puts the mirror back, and turns to face her.

“I’ll just have to find a different spot!” he says, grinning and giving her a thumbs up.

A light blush colours her cheeks.

“Well…I mean…I guess I don’t mind sharing…As long as you don’t tell anybody else!”

It takes him a moment to process her words, but when he realizes she’s not kicking him out, his grin nearly splits his face in half.

“It’ll be our secret, Sakura-chan!”

\---

It doesn’t take long for Sakura to join Obito in his training. They race up trees together. They do push-ups, sit-ups, and agility exercises all around the forest. They spar, even though girls and boys at the Academy are placed in separate groups for evaluation.

When they’re too tired to move, they lie down in the hideout with its paper stars and butterflies, and talk about all the silly things seven-year-olds dream of.


	2. Part I: Teams

Obito has mixed feelings when he finds out his team assignment. Rin and Kakashi. Ideally, he would be on a team with Rin and Sakura, but that would be asking too much. He’s thankful that he still has Rin, at least. Even if it did mean being on a team with some early graduate he barely remembers.

He and Sakura celebrate their graduation at the ramen shop, while Rin’s parents have made her a special dinner.

“We’re still going to be best friends,” Sakura states adamantly. “We’ll train together like we’ve always done, and see each other all the time, won’t we?” 

She’s being stubborn. It would be harder for them to see each other, now that they’ve been assigned to different teams.

“Of course, Sakura-chan,” he replies, a huge grin on his face.

“In fact, let’s make it a promise,” she says, voice filled with determination. “I promise you, Uchiha Obito that I, Haruno Sakura, will be your best friend until the end of time!”

“ALRIGHT! I, Uchiha Obito, promise you, Haruno Sakura, to be your best friend until the end of time!”

They click their ramen bowls together and slurp down their soup to seal the deal.

\---

“You sure are lucky though,” she says to him as they walk home, “to have Rin-chan on your team.”

“Sakura-chan! Shhh! What if someone hears you?”

“What? Everybody knows you like her,” she teased. 

\---

The next morning, he and Sakura have their first-ever early morning training session. They’re meeting their sensei with the rest of their teams today, and he’s beyond excited. He can’t keep the smile off his face, even when Sakura pins him down and holds a kunai to his throat.

“Oi, Obito. You can’t just take a kunai to the throat smiling,” she says, a little annoyed.

“Sakura-chan, it’s my first day as a ninja! How can I help it?”

She sighs and helps him up.

“I guess it’s about time we wrap up. You don’t want to be late, do you?”

Of course, he’s late anyway, after stopping to help an old lady who got lost in the village.

\---

Guy is overjoyed with his team assignment. To be on a team with Sakura-san!

It’s definitely a good thing he’s not on a team with his Rival. Now they can continue to compete as Ninja of Konoha! 

How superb! 

He continues to do his push-ups while waiting for the rest of his team at the training ground. Not one moment will be wasted in this Springtime called Youth!

\---

Sakura arrives at Training Ground Seven to the murmurs of “165, 166, 167,” and the sight of the Village Idiot, Might Guy, doing pull-ups. It’s still a mystery how he managed to graduate. She’s certain he still can’t produce a single passable clone.

“Good morning, Guy-san.”

The mini Green Beast of Konoha jumps down from the bar, and does a few flips for good measure before landing right in front of her.

“GOOD MORNING, Sakura-san!”

His face is way, way too close to hers. She can practically count each individual eyebrow hair.

She scoots back quickly.

“Genma-san and our sensei aren’t here yet, huh?” she asks, eye twitching at his antics.


	3. Part I: Complaints

After a few weeks of genin missions, Obito explodes in a fit of frustration about “Bakakashi” and his haughty rules.

“He thinks he’s all-that, and recites Shinobi rules at me like I never learned them or something! His voice always sounds like he’s falling asleep, and he covers his face up to ‘hide his emotions’. Worst of all, Rin looks at him like he’s the second coming of the First Hokage! I can’t stand that guy!”

She tries to think back to their first year in the Academy. She remembers Hatake Kakashi as a boy with a mask and really puffy hair, but not much beyond that.

“I don’t even understand what he’s doing on a team. Did you know he’s a chunin already?”

There’s a tinge of jealousy in his tone.

“Eh? How does that work?”

“I have no idea! He says he became a chunin when he was six years old! I don’t believe him. I bet he’s lying.”

She sighs. Obito sounds almost as obsessed with Kakashi as Guy does when he gets into one of his speeches about THE POWER OF YOUTH.

After some moments of silent fuming, he calms down enough to ask how things are going with her team.

“Ah…well...Guy’s still doing half our missions walking around on his hands, and Genma won’t stop chewing on straw no matter how many times I tell him he’s going to end up choking on it. He stopped calling me Forehead, though.”

“…You hit him with one of your Super Punches, didn’t you?”

She flushes red. 

“N-NO!” she shouts, instantly on the defensive. “I just…hit a tree really close to him with one of my Super Punches.”

He laughs, because that’s definitely something he can picture Sakura-chan doing. If only he could Super Punch Bakakashi into being less of a jerk.

\---

The pink-haired girl feels a strange pang of jealousy the first time she sees Obito with a bandage taped on his face.

“What’s that?” she demands.

“N-nothing!”

The blush on his cheeks tells her it’s Rin’s handiwork. She nearly growls, and demands to inspect the wound. Peeling back the tape with gentle hands, she sees the cut has scabbed over.

She sighs, and performs the hand signs for the Mystic Healing Palm technique with practiced ease. Soon, she’ll be able to ditch the signs altogether. She raises a hand, glowing green with healing chakra.

“S-Sakura-chan! It’s fine!” Obito protests, squirming away from her.

“You can have Rin-chan heal all your injuries when you’re out on missions, Obito-baka! But if I see so much as a scratch on you, I’m going to take care of it!”

When Sakura’s hand rests lightly on his cheek to finish healing the cut, he’s surprised at how gentle she can be. Is this really the girl who could punch through trees? The flow of her chakra is so steady and soothing. He closes his eyes and feels himself relax.

“There, all done.”

When he opens his eyes, he suddenly feels like he’s seeing his childhood friend for the first time. She’s just as close to him as Rin had been…and he doesn’t know how he’s never noticed before…but…

Sakura-chan…is actually really pretty.


	4. Part I: Bridge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kannabi Bridge Mission

She shows up first to the meeting spot, and sighs. She had gone to pick up Kakashi’s present after training with Obito in the morning, but now the Uchiha was nowhere to be seen.

Kakashi walks up to the clearing, and she gives him a smile.

“Good morning, Kakashi-san!”

She’s trying to sound friendly. Although Obito complains about him incessantly, they’re going to be a team today and she’s going to make an effort.

“Sakura? What are you doing here?”

“Ah, well. I’m on your team today,” she explains, holding back her annoyance.

_He could at least say good morning! It’s important to greet people properly, geez!_

“What’s that supposed to mean? It’s useless having an extra medic.”

She instantly loses her temper.

“Obviously I’m here in place of Rin-chan, Bakakashi!” she shouts at him. 

He narrows his eyes at the nickname. No doubt about it, she and Obito definitely talked about him behind his back.

\---

Obito stumbles in clumsily.

“Did I make it in time?!”

\---

“Well, now. Since Rin couldn’t be here today, she asked me to give you this, Kakashi. It’s a personal medical pack. A present for your Jonin promotion.”

The Yellow Flash pulls out one of his special kunai. 

“And this is from me. It’s one of my kunai. The shape is a bit strange, so it might take a little getting used to.” 

“Thank you.”

Kakashi holds his hand out to Obito. 

“What are you doing that for? I didn’t get you anything!” the Uchiha boy huffs, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sakura swoops in to save the day. She knows he’s upset about not being able to confess to Rin, but that’s no reason to ignore something as big as a Jonin promotion. 

“What are you talking about, Obito? Of course _we_ got him something. Here!” 

She stuffs a pair of goggles into Kakashi’s waiting hand. They’re just like the ones Obito wears, but tinted blue instead of orange.

“They’re cool, right?” she asks, grinning like an idiot at him.

“OH! Sakura-chan! Where did you even get those? Did you special-order them?!”

Kakashi examines the eyewear, and puts them into his pouch.

“I’m not wearing these. I should’ve known you two would give me some useless baggage.”

“Why you ungrateful little…” Obito mumbles.

\--- 

Kakashi charges in with his newly developed Chidori.

Sakura takes out the clone that was headed for Obito with a kunai, and they see Minato bring Kakashi back from the enemy’s reach. He drops his pack, and is gone again in the blink of an eye.

_Minato-sensei’s Shunshin no Jutsu…it’s so fast!_

It’s her first time seeing it, and she feels honoured to see the Yellow Flash in action. Confident that the enemy was taken care of, she turns to the so-called prodigy of their generation.

“You know, Obito always told me you were an idiot, but now I know for sure. You really are an idiot,” she scolds while getting to work on his shoulder. “What were you thinking, just rushing in without us like that?”

“Is that any way to speak to your team leader? You’re just a substitute for today, so just heal my shoulder and stay quiet.”

“Why you ungrateful little…” Sakura mumbles. 

She focuses on her task all the same. Hatake Kakashi might be a genius combatant, but she has her own reputation of genius medic to live up to.                                                                                 

\---

Sakura wakes up about an hour before sunrise to see Obito and Minato sound asleep. Kakashi is sitting on top of the huge rock they’re camping behind, keeping watch.

She’s surprised Obito isn’t awake. Usually they got up around the same time.

She climbs up onto the rock.

“Good morning, Kakashi-san.” She’s going to get a proper greeting out of him, damn it! 

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” he responds stoically.

“This is when I normally wake up.”

“Hm.”

“How’s your shoulder feeling?”

He stretches his arm, and rolls his shoulder a couple times.

“It’s fine.”

_Doesn’t this guy know how to talk to people at all?_

“Mind if I check on it?”

He gives her a bored look, before removing the tanto blade he carries and taking off his shirt.

\---

She lingers after the check-up. Minato-sensei’s lecture on teamwork is still ringing in her ears.

“You know…Obito…he doesn’t hate you, or anything like that.”

“I don’t care what he thinks of me.”

She takes a deep breath to calm down, before the urge to punch the arrogance out of him takes over her.

“Listen, I know he can be a bit of a crybaby, but it’s only because he has a good heart! I know he’s not amazing and talented like you are, but he works really hard every single day to become stronger!”

He gives her a look, which she misinterprets, because she keeps talking.

“And…don’t tell him I said this, but I know he thinks of you as an impressive shinobi.”

She takes a breath, and clenches her fists in an effort to stay calm, but her next words come out sounding harsh anyway.

“So…stop being so mean to him, alright?” 

He blinks a couple times at her request. The wind blows through her hair, and the scent of Sakura’s shampoo overwhelms him.

He’s careful to speak without exposing his feelings, unlike her. 

“Whatever you say.”

\---

While Sakura refills their water bottles at a nearby stream, Kakashi turns the goggles over in his hands.

She didn’t have to get him anything.

He tries them on, and feels absolutely ridiculous. Still, it’s better to have the room in his pouch for Rin’s medical pack. No sense wasting precious storage space.

_“For my face on the Hokage mountain, make sure they carve out my signature goggles, and my Sharingan!”_

He looks through the blue plastic, out to where the dark gives way to the colours of sunrise.

 _Is that really your vision, Obito?_

\---

“Let’s get going, Captain.” 

Obito and Kakashi exchange looks through panes of blue and orange.

Minato wears a small smile, and Sakura wonders if there’s a reason Obito was sound asleep this morning.

\---

They make their way to the bridge, travelling as quietly as they can.

Kakashi raises his hand to signal the presence of the enemy to his teammates.

Obito takes care of the sharpened bamboo that falls on them, and Kakashi quickly engages in battle with their attacker.

Sakura is poised to join the fight when she feels the delicate tremors of footsteps coming up behind her on the water. She doesn’t see anyone, but her punch connects.

With a strange shimmering effect, the camouflage jutsu is undone, and a man goes flying into the air.

Kakashi notes the presence of a new enemy. So it’s two vs. three, instead of a three-on-one. Would they still be able to win?

“Obito!”

“Yeah!”

That’s the only exchange he hears before Sakura and Obito take on the other Iwa-nin in a perfectly synchronised display of taijutsu. The way they fight together…is that what true teamwork looks like?

The blade going through the left side of his goggles snaps his attention back to his own fight. He’s lucky not to have lost an eye just then.

He pulls the tanto blade from its sheath on his back.

Maybe there were lots of things that weren’t useless baggage after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O-BI-SA-KU. BROTP BARRAGE


	5. Part I: Kidnapped

It’s early in the morning, but every person Kakashi can think of to take on this mission is already awake.

\---

“983, 984, 985…”

“Guy, I need your help."

\---

They find Obito and Sakura at their usual spot.

“Obito. Sakura. Rin’s been kidnapped.”

\---

They get her back, but she’s unconscious and not looking well. Obito carries her on his back as they race through the forest.

There’s a group of Kiri-nin on their tail.

“You two, go on ahead. Guy and I will try to buy you some time.”

Kakashi and his Rival turn back.

Sakura can tell there’s something off with Rin. She’s not a sensor-type, but there’s no mistaking it.

“There’s a foreign chakra signature inside her. It’s huge…and it’s giving me a really bad feeling.”

As if aware, the Three Tails releases a surge of chakra, already struggling to break the flimsy seal.

Obito picks up his pace.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, Rin.”

\---

Miraculously, nobody dies.

Reinforcements arrive just in time to save Kakashi and Guy from the remaining Kiri-nin. After hours of surgery, the boys lie unconscious in hospital beds.

Kushina is called in for Rin. If there’s one person who knows how to seal the Three Tails properly, it’s her.

Obito sits on the roof and weeps. He weeps more bitterly than he’s ever done in his life, and wipes tears away from Sharingan-red eyes.

Sakura looks up at the stars, each little sound Obito makes stabbing her through the heart. _I couldn’t help with anything…not at all._

Minato comes back from his mission to find his team thoroughly broken.

“I’m sorry…I couldn’t make it back in time.”

\---

END OF PART I


	6. Bonus: Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Valentine's Day 2018

When Sakura-chan tells him there’s someone she likes, he freezes.

\---  


_“Obito…you like Rin-chan, don’t you?”_

_“HUH?! Wh-what makes you say that?”_

_“You’re always staring at her, when you think no one’s looking.”_

_“W-well…yeah, so what if I do? She’s pretty, and nice, and she’s always looking out for me, and…”_

_He stops himself there. He could go on and on about how Nohara Rin is the light in his world, but he stops himself there._

_“Yeah, I like her! So what?”_

_“SHANNARO! I knew it!"  
_

_Her victory shout prompts him to raise his voice as well._

_“WHAT ABOUT YOU, HUH? Isn’t there anyone you like?”  
_

_She looks at him like the idea has never crossed her mind before._

_“Nope.”_

_“Oh come on! You know who I like, so you have to tell me who you like too!”_

_“I don’t like anyone!”  
_

_\---  
_

_For weeks after that, Obito watches Sakura like a hawk. She’s really happy when Kubo comes back from being sick, and lets him copy her notes. She seems impressed with Takeshi when he scores the highest on their shurikenjutsu test. She walks home with Shuhei sometimes, but only if he doesn’t leave with Ryosuke. He has his prime suspects._

_“Kubo.”_

_“Nope.”_

_“Takeshi.”_

_“No!”_

_“Shuhei!”_

_“No way, he’s my neighbour!”_

_“JUST TELL ME WHO IT IS ALREADY!”_

_“Nobody!”  
_

_\---_

_They’re talking about who might be the best at ninjutsu in their class when she finally gives him a clue._

_“Ai-chan is really good at hand signs, but Daisuke-kun—”_

_“DAISUKE! IT’S DAISUKE! THAT’S WHO YOU LIKE!”_

_A breeze blows through the clearing, and Sakura sits in stunned silence for a moment before giving Obito a look he never forgets._

_Sakura-chan’s_ ‘You’re going to get it’ _look._

_“I TOLD YOU, I DON’T LIKE ANYONE!”_

_She punches him so hard, he goes flying._

_After that, he never brings it up again._

\---

“Hey, did you hear me? I’m trying to tell you who I have a crush on!”

“DAISUKE! IT’S DAISUKE, ISN’T IT?”  


He feels a sudden chill, even though it’s a beautiful day. The look on Sakura’s face is something he has never seen before. It’s not the _‘You’re going to get it’_ look. It’s not even the _‘I’m going to punch you into next week’_ look. It’s something else entirely.

“S-Sakura-chan?”

As he flies over Konoha, he wishes he could have at least told Rin he loved her.  


\---

_Come on, Hatake. You can do this._

Eyes closed, he takes a controlled breath in through his nose. He feels the absolute calm that precedes giving a killing blow. His eyes open, expression set to a gaze of threatening determination.

“I…”

All of a sudden, his heart starts racing. His eyes water, and he thinks he might throw up.

“I…really—”

His palms are sweaty, and he feels his face getting hot. His throat feels tight. His mask itches.

“Ireallyloveyou!” he squeaks.

The effort of saying it out loud leaves him drained of all energy. He’s acutely aware of how pathetic he sounded.

Silence follows.  


“ARGH! FORGET IT!” he shouts into the empty room.  


He flops onto his bed, and buries his face in his pillow.


	7. Part II: New Beginnings

Three years.

It’s been three years since Sakura left the village, to go on some ‘training and research journey’ with Tsunade and Shizune.

Sitting at his desk, Obito reads his last message from his best friend.

_Obito,_

_I’m finally back in the Land of Fire! It’s only a few more weeks until I’m back in the village. I can’t wait! We’re going to Dango Shop when I get back, alright? There’s no better anmitsu anywhere._

_See you soon,_

_Sakura_

He smiles. That was two weeks ago. She’s going to be back any day now. There’s so much they have to catch up on. He thinks back to all the things he’s only heard about through her letters:

_I don’t know Shizune-san too well, so travelling together is a little strange. She’s really serious._

_You have no idea how much healing we have to do to keep up with Tsunade-sama’s gambling debts. I’ve never seen anyone with such awful luck._

_I asked Tsunade-sama to teach me some Water Style techniques. You’d better learn something other than that Great Fireball Jutsu!_

_Can you believe it? We’re taking the pig with us. Shizune wants to call her Tonton._

_Do you think I would look weird with a seal in the middle of my forehead?_

An alarm rings, and he snaps back to the present.

“AH, SHOOT! I CAN’T BE LATE TODAY!” 

\---

Jiraiya, Legendary Sannin, Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku is a very patient man when the situation requires it. He’s been waiting practically his entire life for one woman, after all. But right now, he’s not waiting for the girl of his dreams. He’s not even waiting for a girl, which makes things all the more irritating. 

“I told him specifically not to be late today, didn’t I?” he asks Rin and Kakashi.

Looking up from _The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi_ , Kakashi says, “I think your exact words were ‘Obito, if you’re late tomorrow, I’ll have Minato demote you back down to genin.’”

Rin leaps to his defense, as always. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon. There are still a few more minutes until seven.” 

As if on cue, Obito shows up just in time, waving from the distance. 

“I’M HERE, I’M HERE!” 

_Just wait and see, Sakura-chan. You’re not the only one who’s been working hard!_

\--- 

The sun dips below the horizon, the warm colours of evening fading away to the dark hues of nighttime. Two figures stand in a secluded field, haori flapping in the breeze. 

“So, how did it go?” Minato asks his old sensei. They’re in one of their old training spots, far from prying eyes.

“Ah, well. Those brats of yours have come a long way. You should have seen them today. You’d think they were a solid ANBU squad already!”

There’s pride in his voice, and rightly so.

Minato smiles at that, but it’s bittersweet. He failed them as their sensei, but Jiraiya had done what he couldn’t.

“Do you think they’re ready, sensei?” 

Jiraiya can’t help the annoyed sigh that comes out of him. Minato’s all business today.

“Come on, Minato, take it easy a little, won’t you?”

He gives his old student a hearty slap on his back. Formality doesn’t suit him.

Minato scratches the back of his head and chuckles nervously, but doesn’t offer anything more. He looks tired. There are bags under his eyes where there never used to be.

Jiraiya sighs again. Business it is.

“I’d say they’re ready. I’ll run a couple more missions with them, just to be sure.”

Jiraiya’s expression darkens. 

“Are you ready, Minato?” 

The Fourth Hokage looks out at the field where he once trained as a kid; a prodigy whom everyone believed would change the world. He made it. He’s the Hokage now, and the entire village is counting on him. When he gives his answer, his voice is steady and solemn.

“I’m ready.”

The two men stand in silence, the weight of the future on their shoulders.

Night falls on the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

\---

The next morning, Princess Tsunade walks through the gates after three years of absence like she still owns the place, flanked by her protégées.

Looking up at the Hokage Mountain, she scowls at the addition of Namikaze Minato.

“Alright, you two. Let’s go see the Fourth Hokage.”


	8. Part II: Sakura's Return

Shiranui Genma stands guard outside the door of the Hokage’s Office. He is under strict instructions to let no one in until the Hokage’s first appointment that morning, and he’s determined to do a good job. 

When he sees Tsunade coming down the hall, he knows it’s going to be a bad day. 

When he sees Shizune following her, he remembers that every cloud has a silver lining.

When he sees Sakura, he pulls the senbon out of his mouth.

How he’s going to stop the three of them, he has no idea. Gathering all of his courage, he clears his throat when they stop at the door.

“My apologies, ladies. The Hokage is not receiving anyone at the moment.”

Tsunade rolls her eyes, and before he knows it, the door is open and she’s walking through it. Shizune ducks past him apologetically, bowing her head a little. Sakura sticks her tongue out at him, and closes the door behind her.

He stands at his post, not fully understanding what just happened. 

“Genma, push back all my appointments for today, please,” comes through from inside.

_…I’ve failed somehow, haven’t I?_

\--- 

“Welcome back, Tsunade-hime, Shizune, Sakura. It’s been a long time.”

Tsunade sighs. Seeing that boy at her grandfather’s desk, her great-uncle’s desk, her sensei’s desk, annoys her to no end.

“Let’s skip the formalities. Here’s the mission report.”

She throws the scroll at his face with excessive force, which he catches with ease. Against a lesser ninja, it might have done some serious damage.

“Thank you for your hard work,” he says, polite as always. “Will you be staying?”

“Sakura is plenty for what you have in mind, Namikaze.”

Minato looks over to see a light-purple diamond through pink bangs. Determined green eyes shine brightly at him.

“I won’t let you down, Yondaime-sama.” 

\---

The last time they were in their clearing together seems like a lifetime ago. They lie down in the grass and look up at the clouds.

“You got a lot taller,” she points out.

“Your hair got a lot longer,” he replies.

“I can’t believe you’re still wearing those goggles.”

“I can’t believe your forehead is still so big.” 

They stare at each other for all of two seconds before breaking into laughter.

They talk until there are stars in the sky, and the years of separation melt away until it’s like they’re seven years old again—just two best friends chatting away in their secret hideout.

\---

Elsewhere in the village, Kakashi stands in front of his father’s grave in the moonlight. 

_I had a meeting with Minato-sensei today, Dad. He wants to promote my whole team to ANBU._

H A T A K E   S A K U M O

in bold red letters stares back at him. A gravestone can’t say ‘ _That’s great. I’m proud of you, son_.’

He smiles a bit, under the mask.

_Sakura came back today. She’s getting promoted, too. We’re going to be on the same ANBU squad._

The last mission they were on together flashes through his mind.

_Don’t worry, I haven’t been slacking off these past few years. I’ll make sure everyone comes home safe. Always._


	9. Bonus: Dinner Time!

Minato invites them over for dinner to celebrate their official promotions.

Obito, Kakashi, Rin and Sakura sit around a simple dining table in a modest apartment while waiting for him to come back from the Hokage’s Office.

“Man, I thought Minato-sensei was finally going to treat us to something good, but it’s just dinner at his place again,” Obito whines. “Even after becoming Hokage, he’s still such a cheapskate.”

“Hey! I went out and bought a lot of good ingredients for you guys! It wasn’t cheap, dattebane!” Kushina shouts from the kitchen.

“Maa, sensei has a son to raise now. We can’t blame him for pinching pennies,” Kakashi says, only half joking.

Rin looks around. “Where is Naruto-kun, anyway?”

“I asked Mikoto to watch him!” comes Kushina’s voice from the kitchen again. “He and Sasuke-kun are finally starting to get along.”

Obito scoffs at that. That little Uchiha terror didn’t get along with anybody.

“Aw, I thought I was finally going to meet Naruto today. Obito’s been telling me how cute he is.”

Kushina finally comes out of the kitchen with bowls of miso soup for everyone.

“Of course! He’s mine and Minato’s kid, after all. I’ll show you some pictures later, Sakura.”

Sakura smiles, then frowns immediately when she sees the eggplant in her bowl.

“What’s the matter?” Kakashi asks from across the table, half his soup gone already.

“Nothing! I was just thinking how it never looks this good when I cook!”

She sounds a little too much like a schoolgirl sucking up to her teacher for it to be true, but Obito remembers the time Sakura made her special food pills and nearly loses his appetite. Kakashi shrugs and eagerly slurps down the rest of his soup, while Kushina sets down a bowl at Minato’s empty seat. She walks over to the window, throws it open, and shouts,

“YOU’RE LATE FOR DINNER, MINATO!” out into the village.

In an instant, she feels her husband’s embrace, and a soft kiss on her temple in apology.

“Sorry I’m late, darling,” he whispers in her ear.

The girls look on with stars in their eyes, while Kushina tries to maintain her composure. Even after all these years, he still takes her breath away.

“E-Everyone’s been waiting for you, dattebane!”

“Even I was on time today, sensei!” Obito boasts. It’s not very often he gets to say that, and there’s no way he’s going to let this one go.

Kakashi, in true shinobi fashion, takes advantage of the diversion. The next time Sakura looks down at her bowl, it’s empty.

\---

Over at the Uchiha Clan Compound, Fugaku tries to focus on the mission report he’s reading. It’s full of references to obscure clans and unknown villages, and his desk is covered with maps and research material. It’s going to take ages to prepare a legitimate case based on all this. He’s still trying to wrap his head around the existence of a particularly outlandish kekkei-genkai when he starts to hear shouting from the next room.

“NARUTO!”

“SASUKE!”

He tries to get back into the paragraph he was reading.

_—the chakra network, especially in the area of the lungs, is—_

“NARUTO!”

“SASUKE!”

The boys have healthy sets of lungs, alright.

_—the chakra network, especially in the area of the lungs, is—_

“NARUTO!”

“SASUKE!”

He puts the scroll down. There’s no way he’s going to get any work done at this rate.

There’s a faint “YOU’RE LATE FOR DINNER, MINATO!” from the general direction of the Hokage’s residence.

_Is it dinner time already?_

Maybe he could finally steal some time away from being _Chief of Police_ and just be _Dad_ and _Uncle Fugaku_ for a little while.


End file.
